Pepper and Artichoke

Edward Weston was a American photographer that lived between 1886 and 1958. His work was very unique because in many of his pieces it is difficult to tell what the object in the photos are. Although he has many series of works, the series I am most drawn to his natural studies photos. Without altering the materials in any way Weston would photograph things such as peppers, artichokes, shells, toadstool, ect. He would photograph the objects in a way that made them look like something else, or made them unrecognizable or unrealistic in some way. One of his photographs titled Pepper 1929 is a good example of his work. the photograph is of a pepper, however without the title, it might not be known the the photo was of a pepper. To me it looks as an abstract image of two people hugging. Another good example of work that he does it is Artichoke 1930. The image is an up close photo of an artichoke yet without the title it might not be recognized as an artichoke. The most interesting part of his works is the fact that he doesn’t manipulate the object. He creates an abstract image from natural materials using only photography. The way he takes the picture changes how we see the object.